** Please note change of room**
Technology is embedded in our everyday lives and has changed the way we interact with one another. Smart phones, social networking sites, blogs and virtual worlds are just some of the tools we use to communicate. As people now find themselves online for significant amounts of time per day, they can become witnesses, victims and sometimes even perpetrators of harmful, aggressive and criminal behaviour that is facilitated by technology. In this talk, we will look at a series of studies examining the phenomenon of non-consensual sharing of intimate materials of persons other than one’s self, commonly known as Revenge Porn, but better explained by the term Image Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA). In particular, we will focus on the personality characteristics of people who self-report a likelihood to engage in IBSA, their endorsement of sexism and also their endorsement of false and stereotypical beliefs about the internet and its use. These studies can be seen as an important first step in trying to understand the characteristics of potential perpetrators of IBSA and thus inform further research and prevention strategies.

Dr Afroditi Pina is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology and a member of the Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP) at the University of Kent. Her primary research interests include sexual violence against women and men, including rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. She has been a data collection manager in research evaluating the mandatory use of the Polygraph as a means for managing offenders in the community for the Ministry of Justice, as well as examining the use and exposure to pornography of young people and children for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. Her recent research focuses on online social media use and antisocial behaviours, including cyber-harassment, image based sexual abuse (a.k.a. revenge porn) and cybercrime.